Happiness

As I continue on my FI journey, I am faced with many questions. The questions tend to come back to just one. Will financial independence really make me happier???

I have had different moments in my life where I’ve enjoyed the thrill of the chase. When the new Wii came out a few years ago, I got suckered into Nintendo’s very smart marketing strategy. There were so few Wii’s released that getting your hands on one was extremely challenging. I became one of those people…

I would get up really early and wait outside of stores to see if they got any of the consoles in stock. I would use message boards and other tools online to help identify stores that might have consoles in the backroom waiting until Sunday morning. I got obsessed with the hunt.

The good part is that I attack Financial Independence in the same way. I have a 5 year plan and a very sophisticated spreadsheet. I have crunched the numbers, read hundreds of articles on the roth IRA conversion ladder and have studied the truth behind the 4% rule.

But what about happiness??

This shouldn’t just be a goal for freedom or for an abundance of time. This should really be about what will make me happy. To be honest, I have no idea what does make me happy. I do know that I’d like the time and freedom to really figure it out though.